Solve your staffing problem.

I’m hearing from more and more content shops with magazines that they’re having trouble recruiting qualified editors. That’s understandable. Magazines don’t seem exactly to be a promising career. (Though they have more of a future than most people think.)

What’s more, most shops need a variety of skills, from analytics to social media, from photography to video editing and even books. Ideally, you want staffers who can write, edit, design, and produce in multiple channels, on paper as well as online. These skills—especially magazine editing—don’t overlap all that well with the others.

To make things even worse, most magazines are reducing their frequency, making it increasingly difficult to pay fulltime editors.

The answer to these problems is outsourcing—sort of. It’s not enough to simply hire a firm to produce your magazine, even if that firm is local. You want people who understand your institution and can reflect its values. Instead, consider taking these three steps:

1. Outsource the technical parts…

Including art direction, narrative editing, packaging, production, and printing. I’m happy to help you recruit the best technical people in each area.

2. Appoint a campus liaison.

(Assuming you’re a campus publication, of course!) This could be a member of your staff assigned to meet at least weekly with various departments. Or, if you’re an administrator, appoint an editorial director. This gives you maximum flexibility for using outside help.

3. Bring on a firm.

A single outside group can work with your campus liaison, arranging stringers on-campus or nearby — along with top-flight part-time telecommuters.